


Until Then

by winterhats



Category: Kagerou Project, Mekakucity Actors
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Gen, post-STR, slight au where Kenjirou survives post STR
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-16 16:20:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16957407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterhats/pseuds/winterhats
Summary: Since he knows the way it'd end, Kenjirou thinks it's hard to see his favourite students fall in love with each other.





	Until Then

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very quick and a very messy fic that doesn't make any sense, but have it anyway.
> 
> I have so many universes, it's making me dizzy, especially post STR verse... depending on who dies, who doesn't, memories, no memories... And now I bring you post STR Haruka remembers and Kenjirou lives. I love Mr. Tateyama and I think his relationship with Haruka is very heartwarming. Gaaah, get Haruka a nice father...

To him, it was obvious since the beginning.

It was already a funny scenario; only two classmates, isolated from normal activities or a normal classroom because of their respective misfortunes. But when Tateyama Kenjirou actually meets them, he just thinks it's hilarious.

Kokonose Haruka, calm and slow minded, and Enomoto Takane, loud and impatient, end up stuck with Kenjirou himself and therefore, stuck with each other. It was _very_  funny, really. He was sure it'd only take a month until he saw either of them slipping a love letter in the other's bag.

In fact, Kenjirou kind of looked forward to it. Haruka and Takane seemed to have enough fun with each other, but seemed infuriatingly shy when it came to trusting one another with something.

He would know. Takane had approached him, of all people, to question him about that videogame she's so obsessed with. _Him,_  her fourty year old _teacher,_  instead of her same aged classmate and _friend._

"Why don't you ask Haruka, huh?" he had told her, _maybe_  allowing a small teasing tone in his words. Takane sighed,

" _Becaaaause,_  Mr. Tateyama!" she whined. "Haruka's like, basically a girl. He'll think I'm a freak."

Kenjirou doesn't know what that means. Then again, he doesn't know a lot about women; let alone teenage girls.

He had married his highschool sweetheart Asahina Ayaka, who wasn't your conventional girly-girl, always obsessed with conspiracy theories and stuff like that. And his precious daughters weren't that much help either. Ayano had made sure to make Tsubomi as obsessed as her with comicbooks and heroes.

So he just yawns, "And you really care about what he thinks, don't you?"

Takane immediately told him off. It made him sigh, really.

Haruka was no better, either, but his case might be a little less... laughable at. After all, the big thing he wanted to talk about with him and not Takane was his heart condition, that Kenjirou had heard from his acquaintance and Haruka's father himself.

"My father's told you, right?" Haruka had nervously muttered, since Takane was waiting for him outside the classroom so they could walk home together. He probably didn't want her to overhear. "About my condition?"

"Ah, yeah," Kenjirou hadn't paid much attention; his reply sounded distracted and absent. He wasn't even looking at the kid as he answered. "Hmm, kinda serious, right? It's fine. I can handle it."

"Oh, it's not that, Mr. Tateyama," he hurries to say. The uncharacteristic gloom that had taken over his tone is enough to make his teacher look back at him; Kenjirou raises an eyebrow, confused,

"Then what is it, Haruka?"

He had decided to call the kids by their first names as soon as he met them. "Kokonose", to Kenjirou, was his old colleague, not this child. And it was just weird to call Takane by her last name if he'd be calling Haruka by his first.

Kenjirou watches the boy tighten the hold of his bag in his shoulder, a small onigiri keychain hanging from it. He clears his throat before answering, "I am not going to finish school, Mr. Tateyama. I'll die before my third year."

After that, he isn't sure what sort of face he made, but he felt like something had just tugged at his heart. The feeling of being absolutely speechless in all its brilliance.

He had paused, reviewing his student's statement in his head. Kenjirou guessed he must've looked shocked, because Haruka shifts nervously under his stare, adding,

"Thought you should know."

Kenjirou parts his lips to say something, but nothing comes out. In the end, he only nods.

  


Knowing that piece of information, watching Haruka and Takane develop crushes on each other is suddenly a lot less funny.

When he sees them look at each other with those smiles Kenjirou's sure they've never smiled before, it's not adorable. It's not "ah, young love these days." It's absolutely nerve wrecking.

To see a cold girl who's not used to kindness fall in love with such a nice boy, and see that nice boy fall in love with her as well, is just a lot less cute when you know that said boy has counted days to live.

...While said girl has no idea about that detail.

Still, Kenjirou doesn't say anything. He doesn't treat it any differently, because he knows that's what Haruka wants. He still allows himself to make little comments like _"Haruka, stop staring at your classmate and read question three,"_  because the faces he receives from his two students to stuff like that are little joys of everyday.

Almost helps him forget Haruka's death won't be caused by his illness but by Kenjirou himself. Almost.

   


Just like Kenjirou had been planning all this time, Haruka and Takane die on August 15th.

 _No, not me,_  he keeps telling himself, as a rough hissing sound echoed through the mind he was losing, _the snake, it's the snake._

_I'm not the one doing this._

_I would never do anything that could harm them._

Sadly though, it's gotten to the point he isn't sure of his own thoughts.

And it didn't care, the snake. Kenjirou, now an outsider of his own body, watches as a girl he has grown ridiculously fond of tried to hold back tears in the hallways of the hospital.

"I should– I should get his things," she managed to say, her voice choked up as if she'd been crying. She wasn't though, even if he knew she wanted to. He also knew Takane was too proud to do something like cry in front of him, after all.

"Alright. Go ahead, then," he tells her, but it's not him. Or at least, it doesn't feel like it's him. It was like he could only watch now, and that soon, he wouldn't even be able to do that.

Kenjirou can do as much as put a hand on her head, desperation filling his blood as he tried to make out the difference between the hissing and his own loud and impotent heartbeat.

Because this is probably the last time he'll ever see Takane. Kenjirou doesn't know. He was finishing losing himself to _it,_ after all.

He doesn't even know if he'll see his kids again before that happens.

Takane had nodded, and he hears her sniff as she walks away in the hall. Kenjirou figures she had broken down the second she turned away from him.

He hears it hiss pleasently at the scene, almost as a purr. Kenjirou hears it say something along the lines of "there she goes, there she goes," and "we'll begin now."

Despite he can't feel it, his body dizzily grabs the doorknob of the hospital room. He would've liked to count to three or something like that before entering, but of course, it's not like that matters.

The door closes behind him, or it, or whoever he was at the moment, and his eyes meet Haruka's.

Those eyes, usually round open and filled with peace and a soothing feeling of familiarity, look back at Kenjirou in pain and sadness, and he could tell he was struggling to do as little as keep them open. Haruka's face was soaked in tears, and he looked paler than ever before, almost in a green, sick colour.

He doesn't even sit up, he doesn't even move. Probably doesn't have the strength to do so, he thinks, as Haruka struggled to lift his arm to cough into his elbow crease. Kenjirou hears the footsteps of his shoes as his body walked towards the bed.

"Mr. Tateyama," the boy says, hoarsely and foreign to his normally soft voice. "I really don't want to die."

He's heard the word _"die"_  from Haruka so, so many times. He had that horrible habit of ending every nice sentence with a reminder of how little time he had, to the point it kind of infuriated him; Haruka just never allowed himself to enjoy things, didn't he? Always haunting himself with the "it'll be over soon."

**_What a pathetic, useless human._ **

Desperately, Kenjirou shuts the thought away.

 _That wasn't me,_  he tells himself, but he isn't sure. _This isn't me._

Feeling slightly more in control, Kenjirou manages to speak up this time, "I'm so sorry, Haruka."  
  
"Ah, don't, Mr. Tateyama. It's not like my illness is your fault."  
  
He knows that. Kenjirou knows that.

 _ **But that's not what you're apologizing for, isn't it?** **In the end, you truly feel responsible for what you and I are doing.**_  
  
Kenjirou shakes his head again. The hissing doesn't stop, almost (definitely) mocking him. Meanwhile, Haruka quietly sobs, weakly rubbing his tired eyes. There's a long, shaky sigh coming out of his mouth, and it sounds as rough as his voice. His throat must be sore.

"I'd really like to see Takane one more time before I go."

The words feel like a punch in the face. How ironic, that he's– no, no. _It_  is here to grant "wishes", but at the sound of such a wistful, craving sentence, it does nothing. Haruka never stops crying,

"I really, really wanna see her."

"I'm sorry, Haruka," Kenjirou repeats. "She went to get your things at school."

"Did she now?" he chokes out, a small smile tracing itself in his lips for a small second, "Even though it's not like I'll be giving those much use where I'm going."

**_Indeed, indeed._ **

Kenjirou silently prays for that voice to shut up.

"I would've let her play with me, in that case," Haruka says, managing a sour giggle that simply sounded wrong through his tears. "If I knew _that_  was the last time I saw Takane, I would've let her play with me, even if her worksheets weren't done."

He giggles again. Biting into his lower lip, Kenjirou stays quiet, and Haruka looks up at him,

"...Thank you for everything, Mr. Tateyama."

Everything was going blurry, and the hissing got louder and louder. Kenjirou reaches his hand to hold Haruka's, and squeezes it hard when the boy gently holds it back.  
  
"Don't thank me, son. Please don't thank me."

The two are quiet as both of their lives slip away from them.

* * *

 

The next time he sees Kokonose Haruka he's in a hospital bed again.

Which is weird, Kenjirou believes. Firstly because he didn't think he'd even _see_  this person again, and secondly because this time, Haruka sits there because of _recovery,_  probably looking forward to being discharged.

Night was falling, so the hospital room's bright, fluorescent lights take care of illuminating the space. Kenjirou hadn't had the chance to drop by, since he had been so busy hugging his kids over and over, maybe to make sure they were real and it was really happening, that they were really there.

Tateyama Kenjirou had never been a person who cries a lot. Maybe a little insensitive, Ayaka always said, snickering and "softly" punching his arm.

He's a father and a teacher; he needs to hold it inside, show himself strong and accessible for his kids and students. He'll smile as much as possible to make everyone feel comfortable, to make everyone feel soothed.

After all, as long as his family was happy, he'd feel the same.

So even after reuniting with his kids, Kenjirou didn't cry. He took them in his arms and hugged them back, properly comforting them as they deserved. They've been through so much. The last thing they needed was to see their father cry.

They're happy he's back. And Kenjirou's happy he is, too, so he won't waste any time crying.

So why, even after that, does he feel a lump in his throat when he sees his former students again?

Maybe it's because of the memory of the weeping Haruka in his deathbed, or the desperate Takane trying to get up from the floor. Because of having seen them die, having been taken over by something that killed the children with his own hands.

 _Ah, not... children, is it?_  Kenjirou tells himself, smiling back at Haruka when he waves at him. _They've became full-blown adults, huh?_

_Or... they're in their way to try._

_At least, they're getting the chance to._

Takane's asleep. She sat on the stool typically placed next to a hospital bed, her head against the mattress, wrapped with her arms. Haruka, meanwhile, entertained himself with curling his pencil with the strands of hair of one of Takane's (now, very long) twintails, his sketchbook laying on his lap and displaying a blank page.

"Ah, it's good to see you again, Mr. Tateyama."

Despite hearing that made Kenjirou's heart swollen and his nose to itch, he doesn't cry.

Instead he just nods, sniffing in the most casual way he can pull off. Out of habit, he tries to put his hands in his lab coat's pockets, only to realize he isn't wearing it. Haruka must've noticed the way his arms awkwardly slid, because he giggles,

"Everything's different now, isn't it?" he muses, finally looking away from him. "So much time has passed."

His eyes become fixated on Takane next, so Kenjirou looks at her as well,

"Hm. Are you sure?" he goes. "We might not be wearing uniforms, and we might be slightly older, but I think this girl could sleep through Doomsday no matter how much time passes."

Haruka giggles. It makes Kenjirou smile.

"And two years is nothing, Haruka," he continues, finally taking a seat in the edge of the end of the bed, careful not to disturb Haruka or Takane's position on it. "You'll realize when you're older."

He thought he'd get an eye roll for this comment, or a slightly sarcastic response. But instead, Haruka brightens up (as much as he could, because honestly, Kenjirou recognized he was practically shining), and nods enthusiastically, "Yup. I'm looking forward to that."

"...Getting older?"

"Well, of course. To me, that used to be unthinkable. I'll make sure to cherish this second chance."

And with that, his eyes travel down to Takane again. Ah, jeez. This kid has always been such an open book, but this was too much. Kenjirou giggles,

"Isn't it more of a chance all together?" he offers, gaining a strange look from Haruka. Kenjirou keeps his smile in place, explaining, "Because in order to have a _second_  chance, you need a _first_  chance. And it's not like you ever had one of those, either."

For some reason, his words make Haruka slightly bashful. Chuckling, he shrugs, "O – oh, well, if you put it like that..."

"Yeah. Which was why it was so unfair," Kenjirou proceeds. "You deserve this, Haruka. The chance to live your life. You do well in wanting to cherish it."

He stands up again. It was getting quite late, and it wasn't visiting hours. Takane had probably sneaked in as well, or maybe she had a pass because she and Haruka would start weeping if they tried to tell her to go home. Who knows.

"And Haruka's got a gray head now, huh? You managed it even before your teacher. I'd say you're pretty grown up already."

"Very funny..."

Haruka's tired chuckle is almost music to his ears. He probably heard that joke like a million times already, Kenjirou thinks, especially considering Haruka knows Shuuya; certainly, his son would make sure to target stuff like that to make unnecessary comments. He's a fan of that, after all.

_Ah, which reminds me..._

"How's Takane?" he asks, despite the fact he'd speak to her himself soon enough. He was reminded of it because he's already heard Shuuya make a few kissy noises as Tsubomi explained to him Haruka and Takane were in the hospital. "I mean, even if it took a while, you managed to see her again, huh?"

He couldn't see Takane's face like this. She was sleeping against Haruka's bed just as she slept on her desk back then, her back steadily going up and down along the rhythm of her breathing. Haruka smiles brightly.

It's the kind of huge, close mouthed smile that makes your cheeks puff up and blush. That kind of absolutely overjoyed smile is the one Haruka wore, along with those eyes overwhelmed with happiness. He quickly turns to stare at the sleeping Takane once more, or rather, at the back of her head,

"Yeah," Haruka says, his tone as loving as his stare. He puts his hand on her head, his eyes meeting with Kenjirou's again. This time, his smile was a little jittery, his blush not getting any better, "In fact, Mr. Tateyama, I... _kissed_  her."

He admits to it in a whisper, apparently too embarrassed to be blunt about the statement.

Kenjirou was sort of dumbfounded, even if it wasn't that surprising. So without even giving it a second thought, he says, "...Y'know, it doesn't count if she's not awake."

Haruka's dopey smile as he probably recalled the event immediately melts away, everything but the blush leaving. His hand shakily leaving Takane's head, " _Before_  she fell asleep, Mr. Tateyama!"

"Yeah, sorry, sorry," he laughs, maybe louder than he should when there's a person sleeping in the room. Kenjirou approaches Haruka, properly ruffling his hair this time. "I'm just messing around. Well done, kid. About time you did it."

" _About time,_  you say..." Haruka tiredly answers, not showing any interest in fixing his hair after Kenjirou made a mess of it. "But it's not like I had the chance to do that during highschool."

He just shrugs. Whatever Haruka decided to do with his limited time back then isn't any of his business, anyway. Even if he did have that chance, Kenjirou's not so sure Haruka would've been less dense than he was in reality.

Around Takane, Haruka always got gopey and kind of dumb. Acted more carefree than usual. To him, everything she did was cool and amazing, and Kenjirou noticed he probably felt slightly intimidated by her. Not because of her severe glare, though, but because she was a person unique and different to anyone he's ever met before.

Not afraid to say what she thinks, not afraid to scream when no one else would.

Or at least that's what Kenjirou thinks. That's how he felt when he met Ayaka, anyway. Maybe, like Ayaka did with him, Takane would rub off some of her good traits to Haruka. All in all, they complement each other. He's sure they'll be fine.

"Well, I should get going," Kenjirou announces, absently glancing at Haruka's understanding nod. "My kids said they'd wait for me with dinner ready."

"That's nice... hospital food is not that bad, I think, but I can't wait to try the Leader's food soon, too~ Everyone says it's so good~"

Kenjirou chuckles; everyone calling his darling Tsubomi "leader" is honestly priceless.

He has also heard from everyone Haruka would be discharged tomorrow. That was nice; they could use some time to properly catch up, isn't it?

"Well... When she wakes up, tell Takane I look forward to walking her down the aisle once you two get married, yeah?"

Despite the comment got him noticeably flustered, Haruka giggles, "Okay, okay."

And honestly, that was enough for Kenjirou. Except that not really and he'll make sure to repeat it when he sees Takane so he can see the probably very hilarious reaction.

But there's plenty of time. So for now he just opens the door, turning to send the boy another smile, "See you later, Haruka."

And of course, Haruka excitedly nods, "Yep, see you soon, Mr. Tateyama."


End file.
